I kissed her harder. Too hard. She let out a soft moan as my fangs caught her lower lip. I should’ve raised my head to see if she was all right, but the fact that her lips continued to knead passionately against mine a moment later told me that she was. I was so consumed by the sweetness of her kisses, I barely noticed the bitterness of her blood.
The current parted her sheet-dress. I tensed as I felt the bare skin of her upper thigh brush against my right hip. Something about that touch intensified my desire for her and before I knew what I was doing, I’d gathered her in my arms and leapt back onto the boat with her.
I didn’t know what I was planning to do, or why I had just lifted her out of the water. My brain seemed to have shut down, my passions leading the way. All I knew was, the closer I felt to River, the more I touched and kissed her, the more the pain and darkness shrouding my mind diminished.
My feet carried us down into the depths of the boat, toward River’s bedroom. But just before I stepped inside, I stopped short.
What am I doing?
I detached my lips from hers and set her down on her feet.
My eyes traveled the length of her, the wet sheet clinging to her soft curves.
She didn’t know how alluring she was to me in that moment. How much I wanted her…
I swallowed hard.
It took all the willpower I had to step back.
She looked at me, wide-eyed and breathless. Her lips, flushed red, were slightly parted.
Although I wanted her, part of me was influenced by the need to forget that I’d just murdered again, and I knew that I would regret it if I took things any further with River tonight.
I cleared my throat, even as I continued to take in her beauty.
I found my voice again. “Good night, River.”
“Good night,” she replied, hoarsely.
I sensed hunger in her eyes, which made me believe that she felt the same heat.
But this wasn’t right. Not now. And not like this.
* * *
We were both awkward around each other when we crossed paths in the corridor beneath deck the next morning. She looked up at me through her dark lashes, her expression bashful.
“I…, uh, good morning,” she murmured.
Every moment of last night played in my mind. Our kiss. What might have happened if I’d let it…
“I don’t want things to feel awkward between us now,” I said quietly.
My glance moved to her lips and I felt the urge to taste them again. Breaking the ice, I took a step closer to her, slid a hand beneath her chin and tilted her head upward. I lowered my head and brushed my lips against her neck, her cheek, before kissing her full on the mouth.
Her breath hitched, but then a smile spread across her face.
“Neither do I,” she said, twining her fingers with mine and planting my hands on her waist. “But I’m glad we held back last night.”
“I am, too,” I said, relieved that she felt the same way.
It was clear that we both had too much on our minds, too many obstacles to overcome, to start a relationship in that way. But at least I’d feel more relaxed in her presence now that we were being honest about our attraction for one another.
“But,” she continued in a low voice, draping her arms around my neck and drawing me down closer to her again, “I’d like you to keep kissing me.”
I pulled her body flush against mine. The tips of our noses touching, I whispered:
“I’ll see what I can do about that…”
* * *
Our journey across the Arabian Sea was thankfully uneventful. The echoes in our ears continued, but by now, this was no longer shocking. As we neared Sri Lanka, it became clear to me that we would need another vessel. There were things going wrong with this one, and we’d almost come to the end of our supply of extra fuel.
We neared Colombo early afternoon, but we waited until evening before approaching the shore. I grabbed River’s backpack, filled with cash and the coins that hadn’t yet been converted, as well as the vial of amber liquid that she didn’t want to let go of yet. I took her hand, and we abandoned the boat along a deserted beach and began to run toward the port. River had washed our robes in the sea and dried them on the deck in preparation for our arrival, so at least we weren’t running around in bedsheets.
We soon arrived at the main harbor and our search for a new vessel began. River pointed out a few, suggesting that I check them out, but this time, I was looking for something different than just a regular boat. What I wanted was a submarine. But one proved to be hard to find. There weren’t many around. And those I did spot were far too difficult to break into without damaging the vessel. But eventually, I found one in a private bay area that I managed to gain entry to.
There was terror in River’s eyes as we lowered ourselves inside. I could practically see the image of another set of security guards chasing us in her imagination. Thankfully, this time we weren’t chased—at least we didn’t notice anyone. I was able to start up the submarine without much delay, since it was quite an outdated vessel, and then I navigated us away from the harbor. I glanced at River to see her staring at the control panel as she took a seat next to me.
“You’re… really smart,” she said, running a hand over the panel. “I wouldn’t be able to start this thing if you gave me a million bucks.”
“It helps when your uncle has been teaching you since you were a kid,” I replied.
“Well, you have a cool uncle.”
I smiled to myself. “Yeah. I guess my family is pretty cool.”